One of the world’s best known, and indeed best loved resorts, Val d’Isère ski resort is one of the classic ski resorts, dating back to the 1930s. Today it combines the spectacular scenery it has always been blessed with a resort base that’s both attractive and well laid-out, and a world class ski area linked to neighbouring Tignes.

Overview of Val d'Isere Ski Resort

Val d'Isère is a name synonymous with skiing and although not strictly a ‘purpose built’ ski resort of the type of mountain-top concrete variety we imagine for France, it was largely created from next to nothing in a high valley of the Tarentaise region in the 1930s.

Apart from having a cool name, Val d'Isère has continued to attract guests for the best part of a century through constantly renewing and improving what it can offer each generation of skiers, always staying at the forefront of winter sports worldwide. At the same time it has maintained one of its key attractions – a picturesque main resort village built primarily from local wood and stone and with a compact heart, now largely pedestrianised and home to lots of enticing shops, restaurants and a wide variety of Val d'Isere accommodation.

In the 1960s Val d'Isère began its connection to Tignes ski resort with the great Espace Killy ski area named after France’s greatest skiing hero, Jean Claude Killy. This area now covers more than 300km (nearly 190 miles) of piste served by 90 lifts. Although it may not be the largest ski area in the world it is one of the 10 biggest and perhaps more importantly, a good many intermediate and advanced skiers think it is arguably the most exciting and entertaining ski areas on earth.

When you ski Val d'Isère you’ll be following many of the world’s greatest skiers as the resort has a long association with competitive skiing and is one of a handful of resorts worldwide to have staged World Cup, Olympic and Alpine Ski World Championships events, the latter as recently as 2009.